Three new ministers are added to the Odisha cabinet by Naveen Patnaik

Three new ministers, including Sudam Marndi who was removed from the council of ministers in the 2022 reshuffle, were appointed by Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday. One of the three ministers who received the oath of office from governor Ganeshi Lal on Monday was Bikram Keshari Arukha, a six-term lawmaker from Bhanjanagar who earlier this month gave up his position as assembly speaker. With the addition of Monday, the council of ministers now has 22 members.

Later, a finance portfolio was given to Bikram Arukha, while Sudam Marndi received a schooling and general education. The state department of labor and employees’ insurance will be led by Sarada Nayak. According to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders in Odisha, Arukha was added to the Naveen Patnaik team to help the party gain ground in Ganjam, the chief minister’s home district. After former minister and Gopalpur lawmaker Pradeep Panigrahi was expelled from the party in 2020 after his detention in a corruption case, a BJD leader claimed the party has been having issues in the area. Formerly seen as close to Naveen Patnaik, Panigrahi has lately changed her tone to one of scathing criticism of the BJD leadership.

Inducted as Odisha’s minister of revenue and disaster management in 2019, Sudam Marndi, who represents the Bangriposi assembly segment, was fired in the June 2022 reshuffle. Apparently related to the BJD’s increased effort to compete with the BJP, which won five of the seven assembly districts under the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha constituency, a BJD leader said that the decision to raise him was made. Sarada Nayak, a legislator from Rourkela, was specifically chosen to oppose Jual Oram, a senior BJP leader and former Union minister who is spearheading the opposition’s attack in the Sundargarh area. Nayak’s admission, according to a BJD senior, is also a reward for his contribution to the BJD’s unexpected win in the recently-concluded Jharsuguda assembly byelection.